Paris (AFP)
The optimism was short-lived for the European stock markets, which closed lower on Tuesday after attempting an evanescent rebound in the aftermath of their worst session since the 2008 crisis. Wall Street, carried by the hope of support measures, however closed sharply.
In the green at the opening, several European stock markets veered into negative territory and closed in decline in Paris (-1.51%), Frankfurt (-1.41%), London (-0.09%), Madrid (-3.21%), Milan (-3.28%), Amsterdam (-1.21%), Brussels (-0.61%) and Lisbon (-0.69%).
On the other side of the Atlantic, Wall Street rolled up a roller coaster, starting up sharply, then falling back towards mid-session before finishing in a torrid manner.
According to Karl Haeling of LBBW, "this reflects the high level of uncertainty in the market. It does not take operators much to panic or, on the contrary, get excited".
Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, finally jumped 4.89%, while the highly technological Nasdaq gained 4.95% and the broad S&P 500 index rose by 4.94%. .
European markets seemed reassured Tuesday morning by the rise in oil prices and by hopes of budgetary measures to fight against the coronavirus. The Asian stock markets had even raised their heads a little.
But a turnaround occurred at the very end of the session, when oil prices were experiencing a soft blow and that the promises of actions to support the economy were slow to materialize.
"These are not a few somewhat uncertain classified ads on a stimulus from Trump or the European Central Bank that will restore confidence in the future as quickly," said AFP Mikaël Jakoby, head of continental Europe brokerage at Oddo Securities.
"There are a lot of question marks and we are still in the ascending phase of the number of patients with coronavirus," he added.
- Russian open door -
Oil prices finally picked up momentum late in the day, ending up about 10% a barrel in New York and 8% in London. The upward trend allowed the financial centers of the Gulf oil states to rebound strongly on Tuesday, after two days of massive losses.
Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that he would not "close the door" on the alliance between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia to stabilize the oil market.
In the United States, Donald Trump has promised to present a plan to support businesses and households in the face of the coronavirus, which would allow him to preserve one of his main campaign arguments in the race for the White House, the soundness of the economy. from the country.
The American president notably mentioned "a possible cut in social charges and contributions" to be discussed between members of his administration and officials of Congress.
Even if no concrete announcement had been made Tuesday before the closing of the New York Stock Exchange, the promise of new measures was welcomed by the brokers of Wall Street.
The Japanese government is also set to announce a financial assistance plan to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus epidemic.
Europe is not to be outdone since the European Central Bank is eagerly awaited at its meeting on Thursday and could deploy a range of measures, unprecedented for some, in the face of the threat posed by the new coronavirus to an economy already slowed down in the eurozone.
© 2020 AFP